Couponing? Yes? No?

I love the idea of couponing. I really do. The idea of showing up at the grocery store and saving tons of money? It sounds awesome!

But I am terrible at it. First off, I am a single woman. I just don’t use that much stuff. Secondly, I just don’t want to do it. The idea of spending hours clipping and planning? Not my style. I was doing okay at actually using coupons for a while, but then I got fed up with my newspaper delivery service and canceled my subscription.

Then yesterday, there was a great deal for a year of Sunday papers for $25. Not bad at all and definitely the best price I have seen in the area. So I grabbed it. My subscription should start in two to three weeks.

My couponing plan is to just clip the coupons for things I will use and perhaps things I can donate, if there is a great deal out there. I’m not brand loyal on cleaning products, so buying whatever is the best deal is the way to go. I figure that’s where I will find the most coupons. But I’m hoping to be able to restock my canned goods as well. I’m going to use a plastic coupon organizer that I have laying around and try to make it work for me.

Because I love organizing products, I love the idea of a fancy coupon holder, preferably something adorable from etsy. But buying something for my coupons defeats the purpose of couponing at this point!

Tom, it depends on your definition of processed food. I have found a lot of coupons for baking goods. Is flour processed? Clearly, yes. But to me, it’s in a very different category than Cheez-Its. Also, I love to use frozen veggies as a quick side for meals, and also in soups, etc. So those are definitely good coupon options.

And if I can find a great deal, I’ll buy it for donation to the food banks.